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Ghost Rider is a character that has always interested me, but I’ve never found quite the right moment to jump on board. With Jason Aaron the moment presented itself and I’ve never looked back. I’ve picked up every issue since Aaron took over writing and haven’t been let down once. I was a late-comer to ‘Scalped’ and his other works, but I check every new title that his name is attached to.

This week’s issue was Ghost Rider #34 and hail’s the second issue of Tony Moore and Jason Aaron working together. This issue was a great pick as this week’s review group pick, as although its smack-bang in the middle of a wider story and being mid-arc as well, it reads well as a standalone story, and gives new readers a taste of what Ghost Rider is all about.

Jason Aaron’s run on Ghost rider has been intense journey filled with both old and new characters, setting up a grand Ghost rider legacy. As I said previously I haven’t read Ghost Rider at all before Jason Aaron came on board, but this series has been easy to get into, yet still gives the reader an epic story.

The sequence where Danny Ketch turns into the spirit of vengeance once more was amazing. The flesh melting away from his skin, and turning to flame was a great, yet someone disturbing sequence. I know it’s been said previously by others, but this issue really felt like a grind house horror film, the Highway man’s 18-wheeler, the organic tuck and its mangled features of victims was magnificent.

This issue show’s Danny Ketch in a bit more of a positive/less crazy light than of lately. I like to think that Aaron has really stumbled onto the fact that sometimes less dialogue is more. I mean the vehicle battle was colossal, and not being bogged down by heavy dialogue really let you get lost in the sequence.

Tony Moore has always been one of my favourite artists, ever since the walking dead, fear agent and the Exterminators. And his creepy well defined art fits this book. He never ceases to amaze me and impress me with the calibre of his work.

I can’t wait to see where this story is building to, and yet at the same time am not looking forward to it ending. If only we could see this standard of work across all the board at marvel.

Art – 9
Story – 9.5
Overall – 9.25

This was a kick-ass issue. Next week’s pick is interesting, I remember reading the first instalment of Phonogram ages ago, wasn’t bad wasn’t good. Just not my thing. I’ll endeavour to find the first issue so I can give a proper review of issue #2. I know they’re stand-alone stories, but it can’t hurt reading the first issue right.

Let me preface this with the fact that I have no interest in Ghost Rider. Never have. Never will. Other than possible cross-overs and occasional guest appearances in other books, I've never in my life picked up an actual Ghost Rider book. It just doesn't interest me.

That being said, this was a gem of an issue. Perfect pick, in my opinion. You didn't really need to know any background of this series to enjoy this single issue story. The Highwayman was a great antagonist with a totally Stephen King style origin. It also reminded me of that classic creepy movie "Duel" that Steven Spielburg directed back in the seventies.

The artwork worked really well with the story, as did the inks and colors.

All in all, I can't find a single thing wrong with this story. I probably won't pick this book up in the future, as I said, no real interest in the character. Still, this was a gem of a story and one I'm glad was chosen. A perfect pick. Thank you, Punch.

Story: 10Art:10My score: 10

You should give Aaron's run a shot. This issue was just a standard issue from this run. Plus you loved Preacher, and this is covering similar ground from a different angle. I'd suggest picking up the first trade of Aaron's run at least. I think you'd really like it.

I'm not a GR fan but I am a huge Jason Aaron fan. The fact that I don't pick up GR monthly is surprising bc I tend to follow writers and not characters but I may have to change that after reading this excellent issue. I'm very close to scouring e-bay to pick up his entire run. GREAT issue and the art was fantastic. I know the regular artist is someone else and I wasn't impressed with him last time I picked up an issue but I can overlook the art if the story is as cool as this one was. The whole Zadkiel story has me intrigued and I can't wait to see what exactly went down.

This was a pretty good comic, especially considering that it was light on both dialogue and plot. Aaron is going back to the b-style posturing of his first couple arcs on the book, which is a great thing because as good as the war against the crazy named angle was, it was better to see Johnny going up against crazy demons hiding amongst normal folks. I'm a little confused why the focus moved to Danny, but I guess I shouldn't be as I guess he is the only Ghost Rider left. Problem is, that with Aaron's story and the recent Ketch Mini-series, Danny comes off a bit too emo for me and that was definitely in play here.

However, the action was spectacular and the nifty is the bad guy really gone ending was a nod to the types of genre work that Aaron is referencing here.

Moore is a master. There is no doubt about it. He has a distinct style and some of the best storytelling skills in the business. This is a great thing considering that the majority of this script fell squarely on his shoulders to carry.

If it had been a little more dense, this would have scored higher, but given that it is a Ghost Rider book, the score is pretty damn high.

Hmmm... I already stored this issue away which wasn't great planning on my part. I'm gonna have to do this from memory.

Well, the main thing is it isn't something that's going to make me pick up Ghost Rider. I'm really trying to figure out what others thought was so excellent about this issue and I guess I just don't see it. It wasn't horrible by any means. Above average, even. There were some issues trying to figure out what was going on in certain panels but otherwise the art was fine. I'm always down for a Danny Ketch story even though he's not the hero he once was. I thought the villain of the piece was a bit on the cliche side but that doesn't mean he was bad. Some good chase scenes and all that good stuff, too. To me, it was just too predictable for my tastes. You pretty much knew what was gonna happen throughout and watched it go through those motions. Even the "not dead yet" scene.

I don't know. Maybe GR's just not my deal but I just wasn't suitably impressed by this outing. I'm glad it has it's audience and I'm always amazed when Yoni likes something. Makes me want to take another look at it and see what I missed. It did have some nice colors and a great transformation scene. I'm digging that Danny doesn't really want the powers and finds them more burden than anything else. Good lead going for those that are going to follow the series onward.

But it's buried in my pile of comics with the last Review Group Ghost Rider issue we had. Two tries with the new series and I haven't added it yet. Once more next time Punchy picks?

GR started the day as the second highest rated book ever and now it's down to fifth.

And that is closer to the quality of the book. It is a good solid fun book. It is not a great book, it is a great Ghost Rider book though. The fact that the second clause has to be qualified (and it really does) shows that it is not brilliant.

How many folks gave it a second read? A great book is just as exciting the second time, maybe even the third time, regardless of the frequency it is read. The second read on this one provides no more details, no nuances, it is just a rote story at that point.